--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our feelings are our most genuine paths…" description: "\"Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg" --- # Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They… ![“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. And we must key into those feelings... This is how new visions begin.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg) > “Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. And we must key into those feelings... This is how new visions begin.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emotions are authentic guides to knowledge; embracing them leads to new insights. **In simple terms:** Feelings guide true understanding. Key Takeaway Listen to and explore your emotions. Themes emotion knowledge creativity Mood introspective inspirational Type literary psychological When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal growth - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What feelings reveal hidden truths? - How can you channel pain into insight? A Different Perspective Emotions can be misleading if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chaotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic/) [Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory/) [Deep within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-within/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-genuine-292002/) [Feelings New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-new-455153/) [Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuine/) [Key Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/key-feelings-2365316/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Chaotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-chaotic-5272995/) [New vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-vision/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths-to-knowledge/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I'm getting less good at faking it. People in my family are noticing and asking what's wrong. My friends give me invitations to talk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/i-m-getting-less-good-at-faking-it-people-in-my-family-are-noticing/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [“In our thoughts, we hold the key to our feelings. In our minds, we hold the key to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/in-our-thoughts-we-hold-the-key-to-our-feelings-in-our-minds-we-hold/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [“I have been telling myself that these feelings are new, but they aren't, I just didn't connect them before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-schutz/i-have-been-telling-myself-that-these-feelings-are-new-but-they-aren/) [Samantha Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-schutz/) > [When someone new comes into your life and suddenly you feel more alive, more beautiful, more sexual, more creative, more desirable and more engaged;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-someone-new-comes-into-your-life-and-suddenly-you-feel-more/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [“You may feel ‘tender care’ and a wish to protect the other from feeling pain, anger, fear and all the other feelings that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/you-may-feel-tender-care-and-a-wish-to-protect-the-other-from-feeling/) [Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/) > [I may not be the most beautiful woman in the world. I may not be the best buddy on your list. I may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown09/i-may-not-be-the-most-beautiful-woman-in-the-world-i-may-not-be-the/) [Unkown09](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown09/) > [The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations that we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-true-focus-of-revolutionary-change-is-never-merely-the-oppressive/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [ I want to explain the new alchemy \[in the "From Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to a New Vision of Mind and Time"\], which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/i-want-to-explain-the-new-alchemy-in-the-from-earth-air-fire-and/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it's going to be America First.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/from-this-day-forward-a-new-vision-will-govern-our-land-from-this/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [My recollections of Armenia open new visions for me. My art is therefore a growth art where forms, pines, shapes, memories of Armenia germinate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/my-recollections-of-armenia-open-new-visions-for-me-my-art-is/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [Public image is extremely important in American society and I observed personally that the Presidency of John F. Kennedy did much in the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/public-image-is-extremely-important-in-american-society-and-i/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [“Today's problems endure until a shift sparks clarity clearing way for a new vision, a new direction, a new dream budding a new tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-brien/today-s-problems-endure-until-a-shift-sparks-clarity-clearing-way-for/) [Mark O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-brien/) > [Cory Doctorow is a fast and furious storyteller who gets all the details of alternate reality gaming right, while offering a startling, new vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/cory-doctorow-is-a-fast-and-furious-storyteller-who-gets-all-the/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Chaotic quotes > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [“Observe ... for there's always a pattern even to the seemingly most chaotic matter of all”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-m-alusi/observe-for-there-s-always-a-pattern-even-to-the-seemingly-most/) [A.M.M Alusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-m-alusi/) > [We are searching for the same thing,” Stripey said. “How do you know?” Janco asked. “I read his mind.” The Sitian pointed to Ari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/we-are-searching-for-the-same-thing-stripey-said-how-do-you-know/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [I'm always looking to find order within the chaos. And sometimes when my life gets fairly chaotic, I'll take a walk outside. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/i-m-always-looking-to-find-order-within-the-chaos-and-sometimes-when/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [Science does not enter a chaotic society to put order into it anymore, to simplify its composition, and to put an end to controversies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/science-does-not-enter-a-chaotic-society-to-put-order-into-it-anymore/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [“Our world is increasingly complex, often chaotic, and always fast-flowing. This makes forecasting something between tremendously difficult and actually impossible, with a strong shift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mcafee/our-world-is-increasingly-complex-often-chaotic-and-always-fast/) [Andrew McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mcafee/) > [“Chaotic Of Echoes The Lands Darkest Hours Of Lions Architect the Garlots of War The Precognitions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-ballantine/chaotic-of-echoes-the-lands-darkest-hours-of-lions-architect-the/) [Philippa Ballantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-ballantine/) > [There is a big lesson in experiencing uncertainty and calamity with a sober focus - the most chaotic moments are the ones from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/there-is-a-big-lesson-in-experiencing-uncertainty-and-calamity-with-a/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Malcolm X broke with the N.O.I. in March 1964, and in that last 11 chaotic months, he spent most of the time outside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/malcolm-x-broke-with-the-n-o-i-in-march-1964-and-in-that-last-11/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) [Browse all 450 Chaotic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes contradictory, but they come from deep within us. And we must key into those feelings... This is how new visions begin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths-to-knowledge-they-are-chaotic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chaotic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths-to-knowledge-they-are-chaotic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/181/audre-lorde-758_chaotic_our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths_1460093.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge. They are chaotic, sometimes painful, sometimes…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our feelings are our most genuine...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths-to-knowledge-they-are-chaotic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/our-feelings-are-our-most-genuine-paths-to-knowledge-they-are-chaotic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```